Islanders score 5 in 2nd, rally past Panthers to climb in playoff race

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders scored five unanswered goals in the second period in a 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers at UBS Arena on Saturday.

Brayden Schenn had a goal and two assists, Marc Gatcomb, Simon Holmstrom, Emil Heineman and Casey Cizikas also scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves for the Islanders (4-27-5), who have won three of their last four games.

The Islanders, with 89 points, moved one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins face the Dallas Stars at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Matthew Tkachuk scored twice for the Panthers (35-34-3), who have lost six of their past seven games (1-5-1). Daniil Tarasov made 35 saves. His goals gave Florida a 2-0 lead after the first period. 

“We were not 100% happy with the first period,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. 

Tkachuk beat Sorokin on a breakaway at 8:06 to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Tkachuk made it 2-0 at 14:03 of the first. Scott Mayfield and Ondrej Palat collided in the slot before Tkachuk jumped on the loose puck, going between the legs for a top-shelf finish.

“We knew before the game that Tkachuk would try to sneak behind us and make great plays. That second goal was pretty spectacular,” Roy said.  “The way he brought it between his legs and put it upstairs. It was a great move by him. But after that, I mean, I felt like we just played our game, Islanders hockey. I mean, we were good on the forecheck. Our forecheck was outstanding.”

That forecheck helped fuel the Islanders’ first five-goal period at UBS Arena, which opened in in the 2021-22 season. 

"Oh my God, they were just all over us,” Tkachuk said on the Islanders’ second period. “They were getting a ton of pucks in. We were getting beat up the ice. They were just really fast and in our face. I mean, I don't know how many shots they had that period (24). They had us hemmed pretty good. It was just a battle to get off the ice."

Gatcomb started the Islanders barrage at 5:28 of the second. Off the rush, Gatcomb’s wrist shot from inside the right circle banked off Tarasov’s glove and through his legs to make it a 2-1 game.

“We've been down a couple of goals recently, and I think we just keep sticking to the gameplan,” Gatcomb said. ”We've been great with comebacks and stuff like that. We've been staying resilient. I think the main focus was just getting pucks on net. We got some good bounces there. And they just started going in, in the second period.”

Schenn tied the game at 2-2 after he beat Tarasov glove side from the slot off the rush at 12:06 of the second.

“I think in fairness (the Islanders) probably came out a little bit tight in the first with the pressure they're under and the situation they’re dealing with,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It was the eight-minute block between their first goal and the second goal. It wasn’t the goals (after) that time. You are on the road. If you think of it like a playoff game. You’ve got a 2-0 lead. The other team scores. You are going to own, probably, on energy and desperation, that next block of time.”

Holmstrom scored on the power play to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 14:52 of the second, beating a screened Tarasov glove side. Heineman extended the Islanders’ lead to 4-2 at the 17-minute mark of the second. Anders Lee found him cutting in from the Islanders bench before he beat Tarasov glove side with a one-time finish.

Cizikas capped the five-goal outburst at 17:57 of the second. After his first try was denied, Cizikas buried the rebound from the top of the crease.

Schenn said the Islanders knew after the first period they needed to get back in the game right away. 

“Don't wait for the third. You have to turn it on right now,” Schenn said was the message from Roy following the first period. “That was a mentality. Come in and put pucks on net and get bodies there. They're missing bodies, but they're still going to play the right way over there, and you have to play them hard and play the right way. And we did that, and we got rewarded.”

NOTES: With his two assists, Schaefer has 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists), which is tied for most by a rookie defenseman in Islanders history with Stefan Persson (1977-78).  … Schenn recorded his first multipoint game since the Islanders acquired him from the St. Louis Blue on March 6. … Gatcomb snapped a 36-game goal drought. … Panthers forward Sam Bennett did not play due to an undisclosed injury.